Hackers Disrupt Etherparty’s FUEL Token ICO

Vancouver-based Etherparty on Sunday was forced to shut down its website after hackers managed to hijack its ICO (Initial Coin Offering) less than one hour after the launch.

Etherparty is focused on simplifying the creating, managing and executing of smart contracts on multiple blockchains. It promises increased ease-of-use even for users with zero knowledge of smart contract programming, thus aiming to accelerate the adoption of smart contract technology.

To raise funds, the cryptocurrency venture announced a FUEL token crowdsale that entered the public phase on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017 at 9 A.M. PDT.

By 9:45 A.M. PDT, however, hackers had already managed to breach the company’s website and post their own Ethereum address on the ICO page. Because of that, some of the ICO participants ended up sending funds to the hackers’ crypto-currency wallet.

The company was able to detect the breach and shut down its website within 15 minutes to protect the participants. Etherparty was able to restore its website after about 90 minutes and the ICO recommenced at 11:35 A.M. PDT.

“We have received overwhelming support from our investors, partners and the community throughout the fine-tuning process for Etherparty. Unfortunately, this also means unwanted attention in the form of phishing and hacking attempts despite the vigilance of our tech and support team,” Kevin Hobbs, CEO of Etherparty, said.

The blockchain company says the ICO was off to a positive start, with over 10,000,000 FUEL tokens being sold in the first hour alone.

The company hasn’t revealed detailed information on the number of affected users, and only noted that a small group of contributors was affected. The company also said that all of those who sent Ethereum to the wrong address will receive FUEL after October 29, 2017, when the ICO ends.

“Our team has been consistently and successfully thwarting potential security issues to avoid further escalation. However, we do acknowledge and apologize for the temporary disruption to our otherwise successful launch day. Etherparty is eager and committed to compensating all affected contributors for the inconvenience,” Lisa Cheng, Founder of Etherparty, commented.

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